Ellicott City/elkridge

A routine traffic stop in Columbia Tuesday led to the arrests of two Baltimore men who police say are responsible for a string of bike thefts in the Ellicott City area in the past month.

James Preston Davis, 23, and Kevin Dennis Burwell, 22, were released on personal recognizance shortly after appearing before a Howard County District Court commissioner Tuesday.

Sgt. Curtiss Spanos stopped the two men on Route 108 in Columbia for a traffic violation about 1:50 p.m. They had failed to attach the vehicle registration plate to the front of their tan 1986 Oldsmobile, police said.

Police said Sergeant Spanos saw three bikes in the rear seat of the vehicle and radioed for other officers to come to the scene.

Mr. Davis and Mr. Burwell were interviewed separately, police said, and then were taken to police headquarters in Ellicott City for further questioning after they gave conflicting accounts of their activities that day.

Police said the men confessed to stealing the bikes, but %J investigators were not sure whether they were solely responsible for the thefts of dozens of bikes in recent weeks.

Mr. Davis was charged with the traffic violation and theft. Mr. Burwell was charged with theft and possession of a suspended driver's license.

POLICE LOG

* Ellicott City: 9000 block of Crestleigh Road: A brown 1988 FordF150 with Maryland tags 260417 was stolen late Sunday or early Monday.

* Elkridge: 5800 block of Hunt Hill Drive: A man unlawfully entered a woman's house around noon Monday after the woman told him that she did not want to order cable television. The suspect, who wore a uniform with "CABLE" written on the front, eventually left the residence. No injuries were reported, police said.

6600 block of Pheasant Drive: Someone attempted to break into a residence through a kitchen window Wednesday afternoon.